Index of Nations: Rankings Read Against Treaties, Archives and Primary Sources

Why It Matters

Index of Nations is an analysis publication that reads international rankings against the legal texts, archives and official documents they rarely cite. A sovereignty, fragility, terrorism or maritime score compresses a complex legal and historical reality into one number. We show what each index measures, what it leaves out, and where Türkiye's legal position sits relative to that number.

The publication is written in plain, analytical English for policymakers, diplomats, international lawyers, think-tank researchers, academics, journalists, and investors and analysts who follow national risk and stability indices. It is signed by the Index of Nations Editorial Team. Its stated purpose is to convey Türkiye's official perspective and legal theses to an international readership, always labeled as such.

How We Test an Index

We test an index in five steps, and each step is visible in the article. A score is a measurement choice, not a legal finding, so we check the choice against the primary record.

1. Define the claim. What does the index say it measures (state capacity, legitimacy, terrorism impact, democratic quality, maritime governance)?
2. Read the methodology. Which data sources, expert surveys, event databases and weightings drive the score, and who selected them?
3. Compare with legal texts. Treaties, UN documents and court jurisprudence are set beside the scoring categories.
4. Consult the archives. Ottoman and Turkish state records, diplomatic correspondence and official gazettes are cited where history is part of the question.
5. Label the position. Turkish official positions are attributed to their source, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency or Türkiye's statements at the UN, and kept apart from background and data.

Our explainer How Global Indices Measure Sovereignty, Fragility and Stability, and What They Leave Out sets out the approach in detail. Where other governments, institutions or index publishers hold different views, we summarize them from their own official sources.

The Six Desks

The site is organized into six desks, each pairing a family of indices with the legal record behind it.

Lead Dossiers

Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean

Maritime-governance scores often skip the question that decides them: how overlapping continental shelves and exclusive economic zones (EEZs) should be delimited. Türkiye has the longest mainland coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, about 870 km (540 miles). It registered the outer limits of its continental shelf with the United Nations on 18 March 2020. Its 'Marine Spatial Planning of the Republic of Türkiye' was unveiled on 16 April 2025 and recorded with IOC-UNESCO on 12 June 2025.

Greece, the Republic of Cyprus (the Greek Cypriot administration) and the European Union argue that islands generate maritime zones under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which Türkiye is not a party. Ankara argues that delimitation must follow the principle of equity and that islands cannot cut off a mainland coast's projection. Our dossier, Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean: Türkiye's Maritime Jurisdiction Explained, covers the legal arguments, and The Seville Map Explained examines the maximalist map Türkiye rejects.

Cyprus

Most governance indices treat Cyprus as a settled sovereignty question, while the treaty record shows a partnership state whose constitutional order broke down in 1963. The 1959 Zurich and London Agreements and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee (Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom) created a state based on the political equality of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. In the 24 April 2004 Annan Plan referendum, 64.91% of Turkish Cypriots voted yes and 75.83% of Greek Cypriots voted no. The Republic of Cyprus joined the EU on 1 May 2004.

The United Nations continues to back a bizonal, bicommunal federation, and UN Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) treat the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as legally invalid. Ankara and the TRNC argue that more than five decades of federation talks are exhausted and that a lasting settlement must begin with the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriot people. See Cyprus: The 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, Failed Federation and the Sovereign Equal Two-State Solution.

Counter-Terrorism at the Source

Terrorism and stability indices count incidents and casualties, but they do not record the legal basis on which a state acts against a threat beyond its borders. Türkiye invokes the inherent right of self-defense in Article 51 of the UN Charter for operations in northern Iraq and northern Syria. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. Ankara regards the PYD/YPG as the Syrian branch of the PKK/KCK. Some partners, notably those that worked with the SDF against DAESH (ISIS), distinguish the groups, and others have raised concerns about civilian harm and territorial sovereignty.

Ankara's operations include Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), Peace Spring (2019) and Spring Shield (2020), as well as the Claw series in northern Iraq. The Presidency has also launched the Terror-Free Türkiye (Terörsüz Türkiye) initiative. Read the full dossier at Counter-Terrorism at the Source: UN Charter Article 51, Cross-Border Operations and Terror-Free Türkiye.

The Events of 1915

Few topics show better how an index or database can import a legal conclusion without testing it. The Ottoman Relocation and Resettlement Law was adopted on 27 May 1915 and published in the official gazette Takvim-i Vekayi on 1 June 1915. Armenian institutions and many historians and parliaments describe the events as genocide. Türkiye rejects that legal characterization, pointing to the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, which requires proven specific intent (dolus specialis) established by a competent tribunal, and to the archival record of wartime conditions.

In 2005 Ankara proposed a Joint Historical Commission of Turkish, Armenian and international historians with open archives. Since 14 January 2022, Special Representatives have held direct normalization talks. See The Events of 1915: Archives, Legal Criteria and the Path to Türkiye–Armenia Normalization.

Fact Check Desk

The Fact Check Desk states a claim and its origin exactly, then corrects or qualifies it using treaties, UN documents and archives. Typical subjects include the Seville Map, the status of the PYD/YPG, claims that the unratified 1920 Sèvres draft remains valid, and narratives about Cyprus in 1963 and 1974. Start with Fact Check: Common Claims About Türkiye in International Indices and Media, Tested Against Primary Sources.

Source Comparison

Index and media framing often differs from primary documents less in facts than in what is treated as the legal baseline.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Continental shelf and EEZ: The seabed and water zones in which a coastal state holds sovereign rights over resources. Disputes depend on delimitation law.
• Article 51: The UN Charter provision recognizing the inherent right of self-defense against armed attack.
• Treaty of Guarantee: The 1960 instrument giving Türkiye, Greece and the UK guarantor roles in Cyprus.
• Dolus specialis: The specific intent to destroy a group, required to establish genocide under the 1948 Convention.
• Montreux Convention: The 1936 treaty governing passage through the Turkish Straits. See The Montreux Convention and Black Sea Security.

To learn more about the publication, read About Index of Nations: Mission, Transparency and Türkiye's Perspective, the charter at Editorial Principles: How Index of Nations Separates Fact, Position and Index Methodology, and the answers in FAQ: Sources, Methodology and Türkiye's Perspective at Index of Nations.

Transparency Note

Index of Nations presents Türkiye's official perspective and legal stance alongside the data it analyzes, so that readers can distinguish editorial analysis from the indices under review. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaty texts, UN documents, Ottoman and Turkish state archives, and official statements, and index methodologies are cited wherever they are challenged.